Trail of DREAMs has just learnt that Senators Richard Durbin (Democrat) and Richard Lugar (Republican) have asked authorities to stop the deportation of children of economic refugees, aka “DREAMers”.  Here’s their press release:

For Immediate Release

Wednesday April 21, 2010

Contact: media@trail2010.org  – 202.787.1813/ www.Trail2010.org 

Trail of DREAMs Congratulates

Senators Durbin and Lugar for Their Leadership to Halt Deportations of Undocumented Students

Immigrant students walking from Miami toWashington, DC witness their impact in the immigration reform debate as they soon approach toWashington, DC

Washington, DC: Today, Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) sent an unprecedented letter to the Secretary of theDepartment of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano asking her to halt deportation of undocumented students, also known as DREAM students in order to accentuate the DREAM Act legislation that legalizes undocumented students with good moral character.

“The leadership of Senators Lugar and Durbin truly empower us as a youth movement,” expressed Carlos Roa, a 22 year old undocumented student walking in the Trail of DREAMs. “We have walked almost 1500 miles from my hometown in Florida to ask President Obama to stop deportations of youth like me. I really want to thank Senators Lugar and Durbin for taking leadership to help us.”

Roa, who has lived as an undocumented person in the United States since the age of 2,and the other students from the Trail of DREAMs – Gaby Pacheco, 25; Felipe Matos, 23; and Juan Rodriguez, 20, took off by foot in an inspiring 1500 miles journey from Miami on January 1, 2010. They are scheduled to arrive in Washington, DC on Wednesday April 28 for an event at the National Press Club followed by a final walk to the White House to ask President Obama to issue an executive order that would immediately stop detentions and deportations of undocumented students like them.

“Our dream is the opportunity to fully participate in the U.S. society, but we cannot become the professionals we wish to be because we are undocumented,” stated Gaby Pacheco.  “We have been waiting for years to speak up about our situation as immigrant students. Mr. President Obama, we cannot wait any longer, please don’t deport us from our home.”

[Here] is a copy of the letter by Senators Durbin and Lugar, for more information please contact their D.C. offices at 202.224.2152 and 202.224.4814, respectively.

Meet the DREAMERS:

Update: getting word of the following.

The trail of DREAMs is almost in DC. [They] are only 60 miles away but need your help more than ever. [They] have some 30,000 people that already signed the petition but to have a real impact we need 50,000 before [they] get to DC. Please forward this email below to your list. … The most important thing is that we get as many people to sign it and that we, as a movement, get to hold Obama accountable to his promise.

Please forward this to everyone you know.  Clicking below will sign your name to our petition to end the deportation of DREAM students.

Our petition: We stand with Senators Lugar and Durbin in calling onthe Obama Administration to immediately end the deportation of students eligible for the DREAM Act.

For the past four months, we have been telling you the story of Gaby, Juan, Felipe, and Carlos as they walk from Miami to Washington, D.C. Now, just 87 miles from Washington, D.C., they have an announcement they want to share. 

——————————————————————————–

Yesterday, everything changed. We just learned that Senators Durbin (D-IL) and Lugar (R-IN) have called on the Obama administration to do the key thing we’ve been calling for: halt the deportation of undocumented “DREAMers” like us —students who were brought here as children and yearn for the opportunity to study, serve the country we love, and realize ouraspirations.

Change is in our grasp, but we need your help to make it real. Now is the time to show President Obama that everyday people stand with us DREAMers and the Senators who have joined our call for change.

Clicking below will add your name to our petition to the Obama administration to end deportations of DREAM students now. We need all the help we can get, so please tell your friends and family to join us too.

Clicking here will sign your name to our petition Our petition to the Obama Administration reads as follows:

We stand with Senators Lugar and Durbin in calling on the Obama Administrationto immediately end the deportation of students eligible for the DREAMAct. This is exactly why we are walking. For years, we have fought against deportations of our friends andfamily members and demanded an end to the senseless targeting of hard-working students. Now, two U.S. Senators are echoing our call. We have walked more than 1,000 miles because growing up undocumentedhas meant living in fear that any moment we could be taken from thecommunities that raised us and believed in us for so long. We have achance to erase that fear for families across the country. The effort of Senators Durbin and Lugar to stop deportations ofstudents could be a powerful start to mending the many failures of ourimmigration system. As we have learned over the past few months, even the longest journey begins with a single step. This step is real, it’stangible, and now we need your help to take the next one. Please join our call. Clicking below will add your name to ourpetition to the Obama administration to end deportations of DREAMstudents now. Clicking here will sign your name to our petition:

http://www.trail2010.org/action/

Thank you,

Gaby, Juan, Felipe, and Carlos